2011 Morgon Cote de Py

The 2011 Morgon Cote du Py comes from their two-hectare parcel on the extinct volcano. It has a remarkably deep color, more Burgundy than Beaujolais. The nose is still quite closed and broody with black cherries, cassis, a touch of cedar and black olive. The palate is structured and masculine – firm and slightly dry tannins, good depth of fruit, but quite grippy and recalcitrant toward the finish. Very fine, but give this three or four years in the cellar. Drink 2017-2027. Louis-Claude Desvignes is the seventh generation of the family to carry the tradition of making wine and that tradition has been passed on to his daughter, Claude Emmanuelle, and her brother Benoit. They farm around 10.2 hectares of vineyard with nothing sold off in bulk. The philosophy here is toward later picking than other producers, traditional vinification with 40% to 100% of the fruit de-stemmed and recently using extended fermentation in order to extract more color and tannins. I enjoyed their wines, though I have to comment that I preferred the more “basic” wines to the slightly over-worked “Les Impenitents.” Apparently this was so-called because a newspaper article referred to their father as an “unrepentant traditionalist,” but the wine was perhaps just trying a little too hard. But as I say, this address can be a source of excellent Morgon wines. No known US importer, but available through Berry Brothers & Rudd in the UK.